Hip Hop Writes History and Super Siblings Unite in Funk

Global temperatures and COVID-19 cases are both rising, but there’s good news: Anderson .Paak continues to churn out music, and two virtuosic siblings – the Brothers Macklovitch – have united in quarantine to musically collaborate. Here are this week’s selections:

Anderson .Paak — “Lockdown”

Anderson .Paak has created a musical first draft of history with “Lockdown,” which almost sounds like a friend venting melodically about the state of affairs in the country. It fits in with the persistently funky, driving beats for which Anderson. Paak is known, but it has a salient timeliness and soulful impact that sets it apart from some of his more predictable tracks.

The video, less splashy than other activist anthems of recent years (think Childish Gambino’s “This is America”) nonetheless evokes feelings of empathy, solidarity and righteous anger. Watch it below and listen on Spotify here.

The Brothers Macklovitch – “Give Love to Get Some (feat. Leven Kali)”

“At a time when the DJ sits firmly at the center of popular culture, A-Trak stands out as MVP, the key participant who holds together all facets of the craft,” wrote Insomniac. And A-Trak, Alain Macklovitch, is just one half of the newly formed but bonded-since-birth Brothers Mackovitch.

The other is A-Trak’s older brother and Chromeo front man David “Dave 1” Macklovitch, whose usual group just released an amazing COVID-centric album, also worth checking out, entitled “Quarantine Casanova.” Flies on the wall of the Macklovitch home are surely experiencing high volumes and frequencies of funk.

Here’s their debut single, “Give Love to Get Some,” on Soundcloud.

Dizzy Gillespie – “Bang Bang”

Submitted without much comment, except to say that no words can do justice to Dizzy’s jazzy trumpet. Shouting “Bang Bang” is the best we can do.·     

Listen on Spotify now.

Podcast: Against the Rules with Michael Lewis – “Don’t Be Good — Be Great”

The endless approachability of Michael Lewis comes out in his podcast in a different way than in his books – which include The Blind Side, Liar’s Poker and my recent favorite, The Fifth Risk. This episode of the second season of his terrific podcast series, “Against the Rules,” argues for tough-love coaching by telling the personal story of Lewis’ high school baseball coach, Billy Fitzgerald.

As usual, Lewis draws Fitzgerald in vivid detail, creating a mind-picture in the brains of listeners like few narrators can. And the lessons are clear: the best coaches can transform our thinking, our performance and our character.

Listen here.